Earlier in the year, we did a piece on Pass Rushing Productivity. Fearing it may have been lost amongst all the labor talk of the time, we’ve revamped it – cleaned up some data and added a few more years to the mix.

Pass Rushing Productivity is back and bigger than ever and today we’re looking at the edge rushers.

It’s as simple a formula as ever. You add up all the sacks, hits and hurries a defender gets and divide it by the number of snaps they spent rushing the passer (a stat only found at PFF), multiply it by one hundred and, suddenly, you have a nice, juicy, PRP number to get stuck into.

Note: for the purpose of this study hits and hurries are weighed at three quarters the worth of sacks given that’s the average relationship between sacks and hits/ hurries in our grading. It should also be noted numbers include the playoffs. For 2010, the qualifying minimum was 200 snaps rushing the passer, which left us with 85 rushers to break down.

Getting straight into it, there’s a clear winner in Chief outside linebacker, Tamba Hali. The converted defensive end had a real break out year in 2010, leading the league in total pressures and earning the highest PRP rating. The Chiefs deserve some credit for creating mismatches with Hali and opposing tackles, getting him to attack from the left and right side of line as needed.

It’s not hard to see why he received the franchise tag from the Chiefs, but it is a little tricky understanding why the men who came second and third didn’t from their teams. Both Ray Edwards and Charles Johnson are coming off massive years, consistently generating pressure from the left side of the Vikings and Panthers defenses respectively. Yet, presuming a new CBA gets done, both men will be free to negotiate contracts with any team as they see fit. Given the need for pass rushers, it’s hard to imagine they won’t get big offers from somewhere.

Which is a recurring theme throughout the top twenty edge rushers from 2010. Teams are always looking for extra pass rush, and there are plenty of talented guys available should they want the help. We’re looking at guys who got few opportunities but impressed (Antwan Barnes in sixth), guys who don’t get the credit they are due (Manny Lawson in eighth) and guys who had career years from out of nowhere (Jason Babin in 11th and Raheem Brock in 16th). You want extra pass rush, it will be there when the market opens.

Pass Rushing Productivity, Edge Rushers, Top 20, 2010

Rank

Player

Pos.

Team

Pass Rushing Snaps

Total QB Disruptions

PRP

1

Tamba Hali

OLB

KC

583

103

14.07

2

Charles Johnson

DE

CAR

481

81

13.25

3

Ray Edwards

DE

MIN

416

69

12.98

4

Lamarr Woodley

OLB

PIT

504

82

12.80

5

DeMarcus Ware

OLB

DAL

509

79

12.38

6

Antwan Barnes

DE

SD

202

32

12.38

7

John Abraham

DE

ATL

392

60

12.37

8

Manny Lawson

OLB

SF

217

34

12.10

9

Cameron Wake

OLB

MIA

445

66

12.02

10

James Harrison

OLB

PIT

466

69

11.91

11

Jason Babin

DE

TEN

433

64

11.89

12

Trent Cole

DE

PHI

530

80

11.79

13

Chris Clemons

DE

SEA

578

86

11.72

14

Cliff Avril

DE

DET

368

54

11.62

15

Marcus Benard

OLB

CLV

235

34

11.60

16

Raheem Brock

DE

SEA

477

67

11.11

17

Dwight Freeney

DE

IND

530

75

11.04

18

Clay Matthews

OLB

GB

557

74

10.73

19

Parys Haralson

OLB

SF

272

37

10.57

20

Matt Roth

OLB

CLV

393

54

10.56

That’s the good. Now for that not so good. First up is Kentwan Balmer who plenty of excuses can be made for. The Seahawks used a hybrid scheme, but Balmer spent most of his pass rushing time (62.91%) from a defensive end spot in a four man line. Not an ideal use of his skill set given his size, so you can understand Balmer’s struggle. Perhaps, though, the real shock is that of Calvin Pace who had a real down year compared to what we’ve seen from him previously. The Jet mustered only 18 QB disruptions all year. To put that in perspective, Chris Clemons managed 18 in one outstanding game this year. Ouch.

Some of the other disappointing players include guys who should soon be making way for others who had impressive rookie years in 2010. We’re looking at Tyler Brayton (fourth lowest score) and not seeing how he’ll hold off Greg Hardy (36th overall), and sensing that Robert Geathers (fifth lowest score) won’t stand in the way of Carlos Dunlap (31st overall) for much longer.

Pass Rushing Productivity, Edge Rushers, Bottom 20, 2010

Rank

Player

Pos.

Team

Pass Rushing Snaps

Total QB Disruptions

PRP

1

Kentwan Balmer

DE

SEA

271

12

3.32

2

Calvin Pace

OLB

NYJ

364

18

4.26

3

George Selvie

DE

SL

204

11

4.29

4

Tyler Brayton

DE

CAR

332

19

4.29

5

Robert Geathers

DE

CIN

450

26

4.39

6

Jarret Johnson

OLB

BLT

450

26

4.44

7

Tim Crowder

DE

TB

348

20

4.53

8

Frank Zombo

OLB

GB

252

14

4.66

9

Jason Taylor

OLB

NYJ

409

25

4.89

10

Clark Haggans

OLB

ARZ

315

19

4.92

11

Michael Bennett

DE

TB

263

17

4.94

12

Jamaal Anderson

DE

ATL

218

14

5.05

13

C.J. Ah You

DE

SL

252

16

5.16

14

Andre Carter

OLB

WAS

401

26

5.17

15

Michael D. Johnson

DE

CIN

406

28

5.36

16

Alex Brown

DE

NO

438

33

5.76

17

Chauncey Davis

DE

ATL

209

16

5.86

18

Everette Brown

DE

CAR

291

22

6.01

19

Mario Haggan

OLB

DEN

306

23

6.05

20

Jason Pierre-Paul

DE

NYG

304

24

6.25

But again, that’s just the 2010 data and we’ve already done an article like that. No, you came here because you want to find out about the last three years. We raised the minimum snap count to 700 pass rushing snaps from a defensive end or outside linebacker spot, and come up with some interesting results. Right up at the top is a man who, depending on who you believe, is coming off of either a bounce back year, or a vindicating one proving the naysayers wrong. Atlanta’s John Abraham. He may not have created the highest amount of pressure in this stretch (that title belonged to DeMarcus Ware), but he managed well enough to be the most productive player on a per play basis.

He was significantly ahead of Dwight Freeney, who continues to produce the goods even if his 2010 didn’t quite live up to that monstrous 2009. In the last three years, we’ve seen the AFC South bring in first round tackles to try to cope with Freeney but to no avail, as his reputation and hype make way to speed and spin moves. He’s one of two Colts in the top ten – the other not too surprisingly being Robert Mathis.

Still it’s not the Colts that have the real Terrible Twosome. That belongs to Pittsburgh, who have James Harrison in third, just ahead of his teammate Lamarr Woodley. It’s no wonder the Steelers have gone to two Super Bowls in three years when they have these two coming off the edge at you.

Their placing does mean that DeMarcus Ware, creator of more pressure than any other over the past three years, lands as the third outside linebacker in the rankings. It may be surprising to see Ware ‘this far down’ the list, but it’s at least partially a credit to how the Steelers vary the use of Woodley and Harrison so that they’re not rushing the passer all the time like Ware is.

Some of the surprising names in the Top 10 include two would-be free agents. We’ve already mentioned Charles Johnson (who had been bringing the heat in a situational fashion long before he was given the starting nod), but how about Matt Roth for a team in need of a veteran pass rusher? He didn’t have the best finish to 2010, looking a tad overused, but as a Dolphin and Brown he has always got pressure and thus earned his ninth place finish. That’s ahead of outside linebackers like Clay Matthews (12th), Elvis Dumervil (16th) and Brian Orakpo (20th). Here’s the three-year Top 20:

Pass Rushing Productivity, Edge Rushers, Top 20, 2008-2010

Rank

Player

Pos.

Team

Pass Rushing Snaps

Total QB Disruptions

PRP

1

John Abraham

DE

ATL

1239

194

12.49

2

Dwight Freeney

DE

IND

1417

214

11.98

3

James Harrison

OLB

PIT

1339

193

11.61

4

Lamarr Woodley

OLB

PIT

1346

193

11.55

5

DeMarcus Ware

OLB

DAL

1626

227

11.24

6

Tamba Hali

OLB

KC

1466

209

11.22

7

Chris Clemons

DE

SEA

910

129

11.21

8

Charles Johnson

DE

CAR

1096

149

10.72

9

Matt Roth

OLB

CLV

773

105

10.64

10

Robert Mathis

DE

IND

1368

182

10.60

11

Ray Edwards

DE

MIN

1468

197

10.52

12

Clay Matthews

OLB

GB

978

125

10.30

13

Trent Cole

DE

PHI

1718

215

9.88

14

Jason Babin

DE

TEN

838

104

9.87

15

Jared Allen

DE

MIN

1776

219

9.85

16

Elvis Dumervil

OLB

DEN

832

97

9.44

17

Mario Williams

DE

HST

1515

178

9.36

18

Julius Peppers

DE

CHI

1665

194

9.22

19

Stylez G. White

DE

TB

1008

117

9.18

20

Brian Orakpo

OLB

WAS

767

87

9.16

Now what about the guys who continue to be given opportunities but aren’t able to take them? Well Robert Geathers is no surprise at the number one spot, and it shouldn’t shock anyone to see two Falcons in the Bottom 10 in the form of Jamaal Anderson (second) and Chauncey Davis (10th). Both men are good run defenders (Anderson especially so) who don’t get many opportunities in pass rushing situations. The same you cannot say of every down rusher Chris Kelsay in Buffalo.

One of the more interesting names on the list is that of Raheem Brock. As you’ll have noticed, a far slimmer Brock in Seattle finished in the Top 20 for 2010, so why did he struggle so much as a Colt? It would seem you could put this down to two things (which offer hope for Keyunta Dawson), in that losing the aforementioned weight made him more dynamic, and moving out of Indianapolis gave him some pass rushing opportunities in obvious passing situations. As a Colt, he was left inside at tackle so Freeney and Mathis could feast on the edge, while as a Seahawk he’s allowed to partake in some of the pass rushing bounty himself.

Pass Rushing Productivity, Edge Rushers, Bottom 20, 2008-2010

Rank

Player

Pos.

Team

Pass Rushing Snaps

Total QB Disruptions

PRP

1

Robert Geathers

DE

CIN

1295

83

4.96

2

Jamaal Anderson

DE

ATL

922

64

5.34

3

Charles Grant

DE

N/A

751

51

5.39

4

Chris Kelsay

DE

BUF

1338

92

5.40

5

Tyler Brayton

DE

CAR

1265

93

5.73

6

Jarret Johnson

OLB

BLT

1189

88

5.87

7

Raheem Brock

DE

SEA

1491

111

5.87

8

Jason Taylor

OLB

NYJ

1107

84

6.07

9

Adewale Ogunleye

DE

N/A

964

75

6.12

10

Chauncey Davis

DE

ATL

776

62

6.19

11

Derrick Harvey

DE

JAX

931

74

6.20

12

Alex Brown

DE

CHI

1361

113

6.50

13

Will Smith

DE

NO

1680

138

6.50

14

Mark Anderson

DE

HST

849

71

6.51

15

Chike Okeafor

OLB

N/A

817

68

6.58

16

Bertrand Berry

DE

N/A

771

63

6.58

17

Darryl Tapp

DE

PHI

1090

92

6.61

18

Joey Porter

OLB

ARZ

1328

108

6.68

19

Andre Carter

OLB

WAS

1452

132

7.20

20

Antonio Smith

DE

HST

1635

152

7.20

So there you have our look at pass rushing from the edge over the past three years. It’s hard to argue that some players reputations aren’t better than their actual performance, while other performances don’t get the credit they are due.

Tune in on Wednesday when we’re going to take the same formula and premise and apply it to the interior linemen, with equally interesting results.

Comments (3)

Ninkovich didnt have enough snaps to qualify, but with 28 more snaps and managing the same rate would have finished 11th. Cunningham was down in 48th out of 85 … ahead of guys like Shaun Phillips and, believe it or not, Osi Umenyiora.

ouch @ Shaun Phillips. I can attest he is very overrated by San Diego fans. If we could get an elite top-tier guy opposite him, I think he could develop into a solid #2 rusher, but he doesn’t seem to be able to reach that elite level (or anywhere close sometimes) by himself.

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